Secret Method of Inner Fire
The author is unknown.
Judging from the content and writing style, it was presumably composed by Taoist priests of the Internal Alchemy sect during the Song Dynasty. Consisting of one scroll, it is included in the Miscellaneous Arts Category of the The Dongzhen Section within the Taoist Canon (The Daozang).
Secret Method of Inner Fire
The entire book is divided into three parts: Fire Timing in Seasons, Guiding Water (Qi Circulation), and Master Fangbian Reveals the Mechanism of Fire, discussing the principles and standards of fire timing for refining the Golden Elixir in internal cultivation. Its alchemical method borrows the images and lineages of the Yijing (I Ching), the waxing and waning of the sun and moon, and the ascent and descent of Yin and Yang as the framework for regulating fire intensity. It claims: "The key to refining the elixir lies in taking true lead and true mercury as the foundation, and fire timing as the essence."
The so-called "fire" refers to the three fires of ruler, minister, and people—gathered, they become fire; dispersed, they transform into Qi (Vital Energy), named Samadhi True Fire. The fire is ignited on the Jiazi day of the eleventh lunar month each year, and the cauldron is replaced after nine months of refinement. Alternatively, the fire practice is performed after the Zishi (11 PM–1 AM) and before the Wushi (11 AM–1 PM) each day.
The book also details practices such as sitting upright with breath-holding, hunching the back to draw the neck forward, shaking the shoulders to block the ears, and pressing the tongue against the palate to swallow saliva—suspected to be a method of dual cultivation of men and women.
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